Towel vending machine for fabric-like articles and method

ABSTRACT

An electrically operated shop towel vending machine for dispensing a clean shop towel only in response to the proper input of a satisfactory dirty towel inspected as to length, strength or texture and bulk. The machine cabinet is locked in an effort to prevent lost and wasted shop towels and has an input opening for the dirty shop towel and an output exit for a clean shop towel. The input section of the machine includes a continuous, endless chain with protruding towel pick-up members on which a dirty towel is hung. An inspection procedure includes a rotatable towel contact wheel contacting the towel to determine the proper length of the towel and a switch positioned to determine the proper bulk. The input section of the machine is electrically related to the output section so that the clean shop towel is dispensed only if a dirty shop towel passes inspection. Clean shop towels are simply stored by piling in the cabinet near a towel dispensing conveyor system including a pick-up belt and a shedding arrangement whereby clean towels are constantly being conveyed to the shedding or separating arrangement and by means of a special relationship of relative motion of conveyors only one is fed through and dropped to the dispensing exit each time one dirty one is put in the machine. Other details include the electro-mechanical arrangement of the input section and the electro-mechanical arrangement of the output conveyor section and the details of the shedding arrangement.

United States Patent 1 1 Copp 1 TOWEL VENDING MACHINE FOR FABRIC-LIKEARTICLES AND METHOD 7/1963 Short Primary Examiner-Stanley H. TollbergAttorney, Agent, or F ifm P atrick Ffl lenry v [57] ABSTRACT Anelectrically operated shop towel vending machine for dispensing a cleanshop towel only in response to the proper input of a satisfactory dirtytowel inspected as to length, strength or texture and bulk. The ma- Feb.26, 1974 chine cabinet is locked in an effort to prevent lost and wastedshop towels and has an input opening for the dirty shop towel and anoutput exit for a clean shop towel. The input section of the machineincludes a continuous, endless chain with protruding towel pickupmembers on which a dirty towel is hung. An inspection procedure includesa rotatable towel contact wheel contacting the towel to determine theproper length of the towel and a switch positioned to deter-.

mine the proper bulk. The input section of the machine is electricallyrelated to the output section so that the clean shop towel is dispensedonly if a dirty shop towel passes inspection. Clean shoptowels aresimply stored by piling in the cabinet near a towel dispensing conveyorsystem including a pick-up belt and a shedding arrangement whereby cleantowels are constantly being conveyed to the shedding or separatingarrangement and by means of a special relationship of relative motion ofconveyors only one is fed through anddropped to the dispensing exit eachtime one dirty one is put in the machine. Other details include theelectro-mechanical arrangement of the input section and theelectro-mechanical arrangement of the output conveyor section and thedetails of the shedding arrangement.

22 Claims, 11 Drawing Figures PATENTED F5326 4 SHEET 2 OF 4 TOWELVENDING MACHINE FOR FABRIC-LIK ARTICLES AND METHOD BACKGROUND OF THEINVENTION 1. Field of the Invention Vending and dispensing equipmentincluding measuring and inspection of fabric-like articles and article[e.g. towel] dispensing only in response to the input of a similararticle (towel) which passes inspection. (e.g. Class 194, Subclass 4;Class 221, Subclass 213).

2. Description of the Prior Art The prior art with respect toelectro-mechanical towel vending machines is quite voluminous. Some ofthe machines are satisfactory and for the most part prevent common formsof pilphering but are either too costly to manufacture or presentservice problems from the standpoint of input or output dispensingmechanisms. The inspection portions of the input mechanism of some ofthe machines causes service difficulties and breakdowns and the initialcost of construction is relatively high. Some machines are easilycheated by inserting paper or strips or string. The present machinepresents a relatively foolproof input mechanism which provides a goodbit of service without breakdown and malfunction problems and at thesame time performs all of the required inspections of the input, dirtytowel. In addition, the present machine employs a simpler form ofdispensing of one towel and without complex mechanism and selectivityproblems. For proper dispensing most prior art machines require carefulloading of stacked towels whereas the instant machine is loaded simplyby dumping in clean towels but only one dispenses at a time each time adirty towel is inserted.

The following references may be of prior art interest:

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The machine dispenses units of material such asfabric shop towels. An input inspector comprises material retainermembers driven to carry the material (e.g. towel) through a measuringwheel arrangement that measures the length of the material (e.g. towel)and then in sequence through a means for testing the bulkiness of thematerial (e.g. towel). Upon passing inspection the output dispensingsection of the machine dispenses one towel only. The dispensing sectioncomprises a delivery arrangement that feeds from the bulk constantly butdelivers only one towel. The inspection arrangement of the presentmachine is relatively simple and foolproof and the dispensing frompile-loading is likewise relatively simple and foolproof and deliversonly one towel at a time.

An object of this invention is to provide a towel vending machine havingan input section which inspects the length bulk and texture of thematerial [towel] in a simple, dependable manner so that unless the towelpasses the length and texture test there is no need for a bulk test.

Another object of this invention resides in the unique conveyorarrangement of the dispensing portion of the towel vending machine whichpermits bulk loading in a pile and pick-up whereby although many towelsare being conveyed towards ultimate delivery only one towel is shed inresponse to the input of a dirty towel.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of thetowel vending cabinet with operator having hung a dirty towel inresponse to which a clean towel is being delivered.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 1 but with portions of thecabinet broken away exposing the interior especially the deliveryportions on the left hand side FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a detailof the dispensing portion and conveyor system enlarged.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of a detail of the dispensingportion.

FIG. 5 is a side elevation view of the vending machine cabinet shown inFIG. 2 with the side sectioned away.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged side elevation view of a dispensing bracket andconveyor'belt.

FIG. 7 is the perspective view of the upper part of the towel deliverysystem shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 8 is a side elevation view of the dirty towel input conveyor andinspection mechanism.

FIG. 9 is a side elevation view similar to FIG. 8 with parts moved toanother position after measuring. 7

FIG. 10 is an enlarged perspective view of the towel measuring wheelshown in FIGS. 8 and 9.

FIG. 11 is a wiring diagram of the electrical components of the machine.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED METHOD AND EMBODIMENT The machine designatedgenerally by reference numeral 10 comprises a metal cabinet arrangement14 having locked doors l6, 17 which are locked by means of a lock 18.The cabinet 14 is sealed and has closed top 20, sides 22, back 24, andbottom 25 all sheet metal construction bolted to a three-dimensionalskeletal frame 26 made up of steel iron or angle iron material havingboth vertical members and horizontal members 27 across the top, sidesand bottom and other horizontal members thereacross.

The machine includes an input section 28 accessible through door 17 andwhich has a limited access input opening 29 leading to the input section28 for the purpose of hanging a soiled towel as shown in FIG. 1. Adispenser section 30 is accessible through the door 16 and includes alimited dispenser opening 31 through which a clean towel is dispensed.The input section 28 is separated from the dispenser section 30 by meansof a central vertical sheet metal wall 32.

INPUT SECTION 28 Input section 28 is a removable, modular sectionconstructed from a skeletal frame 34 including horizontal frame members36 and vertical frame members 38 on which is attached a sheet metaltrough 40 having a bottom 42 and sides 44 for the purpose of assistingin the guiding of a dirty towel 46 fed into the machine on a continuous,endless conveyor chain 48 which has a plurality of clips 50 thereon eachhaving a projecting'clip hanger blunt pointed pin 52, there being aplurality of the hangers 52 and clips 50 fastened to the chain atincrements in spaced locations so that there should be always a clip 50accessible through the input opening 29 which is partly covered by astainless steel plate 33.

The vertical and horizontal frame members 36, 38 of the input frame 34support the endless chain 48 on sprockets 54, 56 and 58 havingrespective sprocket shafts 60, 62 and 64. Sprocket 54 is the drivesprocket and its shaft 60 is the output shaft of a transmission unitdriven by its own independent electric motor 68 having suitable switchesand motor controls 70 mounted therewith operated by a timer 71 in anelectrical circuit described later.

The input section 28 includes a dirty towel length sensing or measuringarrangement 72 which is supported on a bracket plate arrangement 74attached to the frame member 36, 38 and also a bulk sensing anddetermining switch arrangement 76 also attached to the frame members 36,38.

The length measuring and determining apparatus 72 comprises a measuringwheel 78 covered by a knubby, rubber material 80 and mounted on a shaft82 on an arm 84 fixed on a shaft 86 on which is also mounted andattached a second arm 88 carrying a small finetoothed sprocket or spurgear 90 on a shaft 92 and spring biased by means of a coil spring 94having one end attached to the plate bracket 74 and the other endattached to arm 88. Sprocket 90 is attached to a helical spring 91encircling shaft 92 and which spring has one end 93 attached to thesprocket 90. Arm 84 carries a small pinion gear 96 on a shaft 97. Piniongear 96 in certain position is engaged by the sprocket 90. The towel 46is moved by the chain 48 through the measur ing wheel 78 and pinion gear96 engages and drives gear 90 until a switch contact member or cam 98hits the contact arm 100 of the switch 102 which is the measuringswitch. A fabric article (shop towel) must have enough strength andtexture to withstand the pressure from wheel 78 and chain 48. Dirtytowel 46 continues on through the machine if it has the correct length,texture and strength until it contacts the bulk switch 76 which has acontact arm 104 located at sufficient distance from the chain 48 todetermine bulk. A sharp-pointed destructive instrument 106 is mountednear sprocket 56 and if the dirty towel 46 continues this far it will beripped or shreaded.

The machine is activated by means of attaching the dirty towel 46 andthen pushing a button 108, located on the plate 29, to close the switch110.

OPERATION OF INPUT SECTION 28 As seen in FIG. 1 a worker with soiledtowels he wishes to exchange for clean ones faces the front of themachine. At the opening 29 in the stainless steel entry plate 53 a bluntpoint pin 52 is always exposed. The user 110 places his soiled shoptowel 46 on this pin 52 at any corner of the towel, not punched orpenetrated but hung on chain 48, then activates the push button 108which is located in the stainless plate. This button 108 sends currentto the timer 71, which sends current to the intake motor 68 which movesroller chain 48 to which pin 52 is attached. The chain 48 is fitted witha series of identical pins 52 at spaced intervals so that no matterwhere the chain 48 stops a pin 52 will be available at the intakeopening 29 to receive a soiled towel 46. As the chain 48 moves pin 52with towel 46 into machine the towel 46 passes beneath measuring wheel78 which begins to rotate and move upward slightly. This upward movementbrings pinion gear 96, which is at the opposite end of the common shaft82 with wheel 78, into engagement with spur gear 90 which in turn beginsto rotate. The spur gear works against the coiled tension spring 91 onits shaft 92 as it moves storing energy in this spring 91. The ratio ofthe pinion gear 96 to the spur gear 90 is such that after the propernumber of revolutions of wheel 78, caused by the soiled towel 46 passingbeneath it, spur gear 90 has moved switch contact cam 98 to a pointwhere it activates switch arm of switch 102. The cam 98 is a fixedmember on spur gear 90. The proper number of revolutions is based on thediameter of the wheel 78, and the corner to corner length of a standarddimension l8 18 shop towel. The activation of switch 102 sets one relay114 in the wiring circuit in FIG. 11. When the tail or end of the shoptowel 46 moves out from under the wheel 78, the wheel 78 drops back downto its original position which disengages the pinion gear teeth 96 fromthe teeth of the spur gear' 90. Thus, released from the pinion gear 96the spur gear 90 is returned by the aforementioned tension spring to itsoriginal position, the cam 98 coming to rest against a stop 116.Immediately after the towel 46 has passed from beneath wheel 78 thebulkier part of the towel, caused by the gathering in of the material ofthe other two towel corners, comes into contact with switch 76 andactivates it, setting the second relay 118. The activating arm 104 ofswitch 76 is positioned in the path of the moving soiled towel in such away that the thicker portion of the towel only contacts the activatingarm of switch 76 moving it to one side thus activating this switch. Whenthe two relays 114, 118 are set, current is sent to motor 68 settinginto motion the delivery mechanism. Intake motor 68 continues to run,moving roller chain 48 carrying soiled towel 46 over motor srocket 54position and down the back side on chain path. The towel usually fallsoff while moving in this area. Should a towel be attached to an intakepin 52 with wire, string, etc. in an attempt to cheat the machine byhaving the soiled towel returned, this soiled towel will be ripped fromthis pin by the holding action of shedder 106. Motor 68 after runningfor approximately 6 seconds will be turned off by timer 71. The motor 68can be started again only by activating start button 108.

DISPENSING SECTION 30 The dispensing of towels from a pile of cleantowels in the cabinet 14 is accomplished by means of power from adelivery motor which through a transmission unit 151 drives a sprocket152 through a chain 153. Sprocket 152 is on a shaft 154 with a pair ofbelt drive sprockets 156, 158 which drive on each side a respectivecontinuous roller chain 160, 162 attached to and supporting a largecontinuous canvas belt 164 which extends across the width of thedispensing section 30. Belt 164 runs around sprockets 166, 168 on acommon shaft 169 on respective opposite sides of the dispenser section30 and around other sprockets 170, 172 on a common shaft 173 directingthe belt 164 back behind a curved sheet metal or stainless steel towelsupport botton 178 extending from below the towel dispensing outlet 31to a point 179 located just in front of the canvas belt 164 for thepurpose of storing towels 180 piled thereon and spilling over onto belt164 so that the towels 180 are picked-up by pointed impaling members 182mounted on brackets 184 attached at random all along the belt 164. Belt164 is guided and retained in alignment by means of guide members 186,

177 and along idler sprockets 190, 192 on opposite sides on a commonshaft 194.

The towels are delivered one at a time for shedding and separation to aseparation drum 196 which typically may run at 18 RPM and which iscovered with strips of card cloth 198 whose wires 200 engage a towel180. The motor 150 runs 26 RPM and is reduced by transmission 151 toturn the belt 164 at about 8 RPM. Motor 150 and transmission 151 aremounted on a frame member 203. Above the separation drum 196 is aseparation belt arrangement 201 comprising rollers 202, 204 around whichtravels a rubber or canvas or the like belt 206 which has strips of cardcloth 208 at spaced intervals transversely thereacross. Separation belt206 which moves about 36 RPM delivers the towel 180 to the delivery drum210 which is moving about 72RPM and which grabs the towel 180 and throwsit from a discharge chute 214 from the opening 31. Roller 210 is drivenfrom a sprocket 216 on the shaft 218 from transmission 151 by means of achain 220 which passes over sprocket 221 on shaft 225 and also drives asprocket 224 on the shaft 226 of delivery drum 210 and a sprocket 230 ona shaft 232 of the roller 24. Sprocket 236 on shaft 218 drives the chain153 which drives sprocket 222 on shaft 223.

DISPENSING AND DELIVERY OPERATION The delivery motor 150 is actuated bythe proper dirty towel transfers power through its power transmissionsystem to turn sprocket 152 in a clockwise direction. Attached to thesame shaft 154 as sprocket 152 are the sprocket 158 and the sprocket156. Running over sprockets 158 and 156 are the roller chains 160 and162 and suspended between the attached to the full lengths of the rollerchains 160 and 162 is the delivery belt 164 which is almost the width ofthe clean towel compartment dispensing section 30. Delivery belt 164,starting at sprockets 158 and 156 runs down the back side of the cleantowel compartment dispensing section 30 (approximaaely 2 inches fromback panel 24) to sprockets 166 and 168, then along the bottom of cleantowel compartment dispensing section 24 to sprockets 170 and 172, whichare positioned roughly half way between the front and back of thiscompartment. Delivery belt 164 carried by roller chains 160 and 162continues back along the bottom and up to the back of the compartmentdispensing section 30 in a long sweeping curve. Delivery belt 164 andchains 160 and 162 are held in proper position on this long curve byguides 186 and 188. Delivery belt 164 continues vertically up the backof the clean towel compartment dispensing section 30 until roller chains160 and 162 reach idler sprockets 190 and 192. From sprockets 190 and192 the delivery belt 164 moves out from its vertical path parallel withthe back 24 of the machine approximately 30 toward the front of themachine until it reaches sprockets 158 and 156, the beginning point.

Attached to the delivery belt 164 are the pick-up pointed members 182with their pointed ends directed in the direction as the movement of thedelivery belt 164. These pick-up points 182 are located in a descendingpattern across the face of the delivery belt 164, their purpose being todeliver whatever clean towels these pick-up points 182 might haveengaged in its passage through the clean towel supply to the top of themachine in sequential order. This pattern of pick-up points 182 isrepeated at proper intervals all around the delivery belt 164. Thespacing of the pick-up points 182 is. such, that no matter how thesepoints engage clean towels 180 for delivery there will be a spacebetween them. The pick-up points 182 themselves always arrive atseparation drum 196 one at a time, even though these points 182occasionally pick up more than one clean towel 180 at a time. With thisarrangement a constant supply of clean towels 180 is always movingtoward delivery. The clean towel compartment is loaded with loose, shoptowels 180 just as they come from a dryer, to a limit line approximately6 to 8 inches below the separation drum 196. An empty switch 197 beneaththe towel support 178 is actuated by a contact 199 on the bottom ofsupport 178 when the weight from towels reduces below a certain amountwhich allows the pan-shaped portion to bend. The action of the pick-uppoints 182 engaging clean towels 180 tends to create a tumbling actionin the clean towel compartment section 30 which helps to keep the cleamtowel 180 supply in contact with the delivery belt 164. The

movement of the delivery belt 164 outward into the machine after passingthe point of idler sprockets 190 and 192 allows the towels '180 on thepick-up 182 to swing away from the delivery belt 164. As seen in FIG. 3,as towels 180 swing out this allows any towels not hooked by pick-uppoints 182 that are trapped behind towels 180 that are hooked to dropout and return to the clean towel compartment section 30. Separationdrum 196 is covered with the strips of card clothing 198 whose wires 200will engage the fabric of a shop towel 180 if moved into it in onedirection but will not if moved into it in the opposite direction. Thestrips of card clothing 198 are in line with the pick-up points 182 asdelivery belt 164. As towels'180 on delivery belt 164 reach theseparation drum 196 they are lifted off by the card cloth 198 on theseparation drum 196 which is moving faster in feet per minute (F PM)than the delivery belt 164. The 'comstruction of the card clothing 198is such that it engages only the surface of a fabric. It will lift onlythe top towel 180 off a pick-up point 182 if there should be more thanone towel on the point 182. The separation drum 196 moves the towel toits top position which is directly beneath separation belt 206 which ismoving at a faster speed (FPM) than the separation drum 196. Theseparation belt 206 has the strips of card clothing 208 approximately linch wide running across the separation belt 206, at 90 to the directionon the belts movement. These strips of card cloth 208 are spaced atregular intervals around the separation belt 206. The separation belt206 card cloth 208 strips engage the towel 180 on the separation drum196 moving the towel 180 across the open area above clean towel supplyand brings it into contact with delivery drum 21. Delivery drum 210moving at a greater (FPM) speed than the separation belt 206 engages thetowel 180 throwing it out and downward into the clean towel dischargechute 214. The downward fall of this towel 180 in the discharge chute214 brings it into contact with the actuator arm of a knock-off switch241 which through the machines electrical circuit cuts off the powersupply to motor stopping the complete delivery mechanism. If during thedelivery cycle the pich-up point 182 delivers two towels at the sametime on the same point to separation drum 196 it will engage the toptowel 180 moving it forward of the second towel 180 on the same point182. It is then carried forward ahead of the second towel 180 until itreaches the separation belt 206, if the one towel 180 still rests abovethe other a further separating action occurs as belt 206 moves off withuppermost towel 180 in this instance the separation drum 196 usuallycarries this second towel 180 downward, returning it to the clean towelsupply. Separation is achieved by spacing of the towel carrying memberspoints l82 in relation to each other (i.e., spacing of points 182 ondelivery belt 164, spacing of card cloth 198 on separation drum 196,spacing of card cloth 208 on separation belt 206) and the difference inspeed between each towel carrying member point 182. Each towel carryingmember point moves at a greater P PM speed than the previous towelcarrying member point. This results in the towel moving forward of itsdelivery point at increasing speed, thus making the physical separationof this towel 180 from the following towel 180 greater as it moves fromone carrying member to the next. Since there is sufficient distancebetween the first towel and the following towel it is possible todelivery this towel and stop the delivery mechanism before the followingtowel is delivered.

ELECTRICAL DIAGRAM FIG. 11

The operation of the electrical diagram in FIG. 11 is apparent from theprevious description and the diagram itself. However, by way of briefreview, the motor 68 is operated by the on-off push button switch 108and runs a cycle depending upon the inspection of the input dirty towel28 and the timer 71 which stops motor 68 after a pre-determined periodof time. Both motors 150 and 68 are suitably fused and protected bythermostat switches which stop either motors 68 and 150 after a periodof time should the motors 68, 150 continue to run for any reason. Thedispensing motor 150 is operated only after the proper sequence ofinspection of the towel through switches 102 for length and switch 104for bulk. Fuse blocks 240, 242,244 provide terminals for connectingvarious wires, for example wires 246, 248 to different parts of thecircuit. A terminal block 250 provides connecting points for wires andcolor coding and by using different colors for wiressimplifies thetracing and wiring of the circuits. Terminal block 250 is part of a box254 in which are located the timer 71 and the relays 114,118 required tomeasure length in sequence from switch 102 and bulk from switch 76 thatif the towel 46 fails to measure properly either due to improper lengthor texture and strength necessary to operate the measuring device 72then the towel (whatever it may be such as paper, cut-strips, string,cord and the like-which are some of the things used to fool suchmachines) passes on through without operating the dispensing section 30which happens only after both lengthswitch 102 inspection properlyoperates the relays 114, 118 in box 254 and then after bulk switch 76completes the sequence in box 254 relays. Thus, even if the towel passeslength through the length device 72 and switch 102, if the towel failsto operate switch 76 the machine does not dispense and cuts-off fromtimer 71. As seen by the circuitry in FIG.

l1,the dispensing motor 150 is operated through box 254 and relays 114,118 from switches 102, 76 only only and there are .various changes,alterations, modifi-- While I have shown and described a particularembodiment of this invention, this is by way of illustration cations,eliminations, revisions, omissions, departures, combinings, separations,and differences which can be effected in the disclosed machine andmethod without avoiding the scope of the invention as defined by properinterpretation of the appended Claims.

I claim: 1. In a method of dispensing individual fabric-like articles,including fabric shop towels, from a loose pile, comprising:

continuously delivering clean fabric articles from a pile of sucharticles by impaling and separating different articles at spaced placeson a moving conveyor by an impaling means on said conveyor movingthrough said pile and ultimately delivering one article only be removingit through engagement by and relative motion of a delivery means fromthe conveyor to dispense only one such article at a time, said conveyormeans being a continuous conveyor traveling in contact with the pile ofarticles and having the article carrying means in spaced places thereon,causing said conveyor to travel through at, least part of said pile andcontacting said pile by said conveyor creating a tumbling action therebyassisting in feeding the articles to the conveyor, removing said articlefrom the conveyor means by a bottom separation drum which removes saidarticle from the conveyor and directing said articles beneath a topconveyor traveling faster than said delivery drum, and

extendingsaid article from said bottom separation drumby means of saidtop conveyor to a bottom delivery drum in line with said bottomseparator drum, said delivery-drum running faster than said topconveyor, whereby only one article is delivered and extended betweensaid delivery drum and said separator drum.

2. In a method of dispensing individual fabric-like articles, includingfabric shop towels, from a loose pile, comprising: I

continuously delivering clean fabric articles from a pile of sucharticles by picking same up atspaced places on a conveyor and ultimatelydelivering one article only by removing it through relative motion of adelivery means from the conveyor to dispense only one such article at atime, spacing article carrying means along a continuous conveyor thattravels through the pile of articles so that there is always a spacebetween articles, picking-up an article in at least some of saidcarrying means traveling through the pile and conveying same to a secondconveyor which is caused to travel at a faster speed towards adischarge'point engaging said article to first reach said secondcohveyor with said second conveyor whereby said first article to reachis conveyed without conveying the next and then stopping said conveyorsprior to the next article reaching the discharge point, engaging saidarticles with'impaling means onsaid conveyor at said article carryingmeans whereby said articles are. impaled as the impaling means passesthrough the pile, inspecting an input article prior to releasing theconveyed article such as inspecting a dirty shop towel prior toreleasing a clean one, and actuatingsaid conveyor 'for said article uponsaid input article passing inspection.

3. In a vending machine for inspecting a fabric-like article, includinga dirty shop towel, prior to releasing a second article, including aclean shop towel:

a machine cabinet having an input article storage area which receivesinput articles fed one at a time therein,

an output storage area in which there is a supply of articles to bedispensed in response only to the insertion and inspection of an inputarticle,

a measuring apparatus comprising a measuring wheel contacted by an inputarticle traveling thereagainst,

conveyor means for conveying said input article against said measuringwheel,

a first electric motor operating said conveyor means and actuated forpre-determined travel by manual operation,

a second electric motor operating an output apparatus on said machineonly in response to said measuring apparatus,

and switch means contacted by upon completion of the predeterminedtravel of said measuring wheel to operate said second electric motor,

said measuring apparatus also including a small gear operated bymovement of said measuring wheel and a larger gear in contact therewith,

said measuring wheel being mounted on a first mov able arm, said firstarm having the small gear thereon and the movement of said arm inresponse to the article passing through the measuring wheel bringingsaid small gear into contact with said larger one, said larger gearhaving the switch contact member mounted thereon,

4. The apparatus in claim 3:

a bulk sensing means on said machine operated by said article travelingon said conveyor means and including an electric switch contacted by thearticle.

5. The apparatus in claim 3:

said larger gear being mounted on a second movable arm, spring meansbiasing said second movable arm, a switch contact member on said largergear, and a return spring which is wound when said gear is moved andunwinds said 'gear when released.

6. The apparatus in claim 5:

said measuring wheel being on the same shaft with said small gear on thesame arm.

7. In a vending machine for inspecting a fabric-like article, includinga dirty shop towel, prior to releasing I a second electric motoroperating an output apparatus on said machine only in response to saidmeasuring apparatus,

and switch means contacted by upon completion of the predeterminedtravel of said measuring wheel to operate said second electric motor,

a dispensing means on said machine for dispensing one article at a timein response to the operation of the dispensing motor,

said dispensing means comprising a support for a pile of articles,

a conveyor means traveling through said pile of arti cles,

article pick-up and carrying means in spaced positions on said conveyorfor picking up and conveying articles towards a dispensing point,

a second conveyor means engageable with the first article to contactsame and traveling at a faster speed than said first conveyor meanswhereby the first article is removed and conveyed to said dispensingpoint.

8. The apparatus in claim 7:

said first conveyor being a continuous, wide belt-like arrangement withsaid pick-up and carrying means located in spaced relation along andacross same.

9. The apparatus in claim 8:

said first conveyor pick-up means comprising sharp members for impalingan article upon contacting same.

10. The apparatus in claim 9:

said first conveyor operating next to the storage area and there being asupport therein for feeding articles onto said conveyor.

11. The apparatus in claim 10:

said second conveyor being a roller with sharp points in spacedlocations thereon.

12. The apparatus in claim 11:

a third conveyor above said roller comprising a belt with sharp teeththereon in spaced locations.

13. The apparatus in claim 12:

a fourth discharge conveyor at the end of said belt comprising a rollerwith teeth thereon traveling faster than said third conveyor.

14. In a machine for dispensing fabric-like articles, including shoptowels, which can be penetrated by a pointed member:

a machine cabinet having a storage area therein with a bottom on whichis piled a pile of articles which are placed therein without any specialorder of arrangement which includes dropping them therein from a dryeror the like,

a continuous conveyor passing next to said pile of articles and againstthe articles therein and said conveyor having article pick-up memberstherein that penetrate the fabric-like articles and move same upwardlywith the conveyor,

said pattern of pick-up members being such on said conveyor to berepeated at intervals on the conveyor and located in descending order onsaid conveyor whereby each member reaches a take-off point ahead of theothers in the same pattern, there being spaced between said point soarranged with respect to the distance involved and the take-off toppoint so there is spaced between them thereby delivering one articleahead of the next to the takeoff point.

a bottom separation drum on said machine having means thereon engagingthe lead article and traveling faster than said continuous conveyor toseparate same and deliver it for dispensing while continuing the nextarticle,

a top conveyor over said bottom separation drum,

a bottom delivery drum at the end of and below said top conveyor and thedistance between said delivery drum and said separation drum being suchthat an article is extended from one to the other beneath said topconveyor, said delivery drum running faster than said top conveyorwhereby only one article at a time is delivered.

15. The device in claim 14, said continuous conveyor being a continuousbelt.

16. The device in claim 14, wherein said delivery drum has sharp pointsprotruding from the surface thereof.

17. The device in claim 14 wherein there is a curved support insaidcabinet for said pile of articles and said conveyor travels therein.

18. The device in claim 14 wherein said separation drum has strips ofcard cloth thereon.

19. The device in claim 18 wherein said topconveyor has card cloththereon.

20. The device in claim 14 wherein said conveyor comprises a pair ofcontinuous chains having a canvas belt attached thereto.

21. The device in claim 14 wherein there is an empty indicator meansactuated by the weight loss of the articles.

22. The device in claim 20 wherein said belt has impaling membersthereon in spaced relation to each other.

1. In a method of dispensing individual fabric-like articles, includingfabric shop towels, from a loose pile, comprising: continuouslydelivering clean fabric articles from a pile of such articles byimpaling and separating different articles at spaced places on a movingconveyor by an impaling means on said conveyor moving through said pileand ultimately delivering one article only be removing it throughengagement by and relative motion of a delivery means from the conveyorto dispense only one such article at a time, said conveyor means being acontinuous conveyor traveling in contact with the pile of articles andhaving the article carrying means in spaced places thereon, causing saidconveyor to travel through at least part of said pile and contactingsaid pile by said conveyor creating a tumbling action thereby assistingin feeding the articles to the conveyor, removing said article from theconveyor means by a bottom separation drum which removes said articlefrom the conveyor and directing said articles beneath a top conveyortraveling faster than said delivery drum, and extending said articlefrom said bottom separation drum by means of said top conveyor to abottom delivery drum in line with said bottom separator drum, saiddelivery drum running faster than said top conveyor, whereby only onearticle is delivered and extended between said delivery drum and saidseparator drum.
 2. In a method of dispensing individual fabric-likearticles, including fAbric shop towels, from a loose pile, comprising:continuously delivering clean fabric articles from a pile of sucharticles by picking same up at spaced places on a conveyor andultimately delivering one article only by removing it through relativemotion of a delivery means from the conveyor to dispense only one sucharticle at a time, spacing article carrying means along a continuousconveyor that travels through the pile of articles so that there isalways a space between articles, picking-up an article in at least someof said carrying means traveling through the pile and conveying same toa second conveyor which is caused to travel at a faster speed towards adischarge point engaging said article to first reach said secondconveyor with said second conveyor whereby said first article to reachis conveyed without conveying the next and then stopping said conveyorsprior to the next article reaching the discharge point, engaging saidarticles with impaling means on said conveyor at said article carryingmeans whereby said articles are impaled as the impaling means passesthrough the pile, inspecting an input article prior to releasing theconveyed article such as inspecting a dirty shop towel prior toreleasing a clean one, and actuating said conveyor for said article uponsaid input article passing inspection.
 3. In a vending machine forinspecting a fabric-like article, including a dirty shop towel, prior toreleasing a second article, including a clean shop towel: a machinecabinet having an input article storage area which receives inputarticles fed one at a time therein, an output storage area in whichthere is a supply of articles to be dispensed in response only to theinsertion and inspection of an input article, a measuring apparatuscomprising a measuring wheel contacted by an input article travelingthereagainst, conveyor means for conveying said input article againstsaid measuring wheel, a first electric motor operating said conveyormeans and actuated for pre-determined travel by manual operation, asecond electric motor operating an output apparatus on said machine onlyin response to said measuring apparatus, and switch means contacted byupon completion of the predetermined travel of said measuring wheel tooperate said second electric motor, said measuring apparatus alsoincluding a small gear operated by movement of said measuring wheel anda larger gear in contact therewith, said measuring wheel being mountedon a first movable arm, said first arm having the small gear thereon andthe movement of said arm in response to the article passing through themeasuring wheel bringing said small gear into contact with said largerone, said larger gear having the switch contact member mounted thereon,4. The apparatus in claim 3: a bulk sensing means on said machineoperated by said article traveling on said conveyor means and includingan electric switch contacted by the article.
 5. The apparatus in claim3: said larger gear being mounted on a second movable arm, spring meansbiasing said second movable arm, a switch contact member on said largergear, and a return spring which is wound when said gear is moved andunwinds said gear when released.
 6. The apparatus in claim 5: saidmeasuring wheel being on the same shaft with said small gear on the samearm.
 7. In a vending machine for inspecting a fabric-like article,including a dirty shop towel, prior to releasing a second article,including a clean shop towel: a machine cabinet having an input articlestorage area which receives input articles fed one at a time therein, anoutput storage area in which there is a supply of articles to bedispensed in response only to the insertion and inspection of an inputarticle, a measuring apparatus comprising a measuring wheel contacted byan input article traveling thereagainst, conveyor means for conveyingsaid input article against said measuring wheel, a first electric motoroperating said conveyor means and actuated for pre-determined travel bymanual operation, a second electric motor operating an output apparatuson said machine only in response to said measuring apparatus, and switchmeans contacted by upon completion of the predetermined travel of saidmeasuring wheel to operate said second electric motor, a dispensingmeans on said machine for dispensing one article at a time in responseto the operation of the dispensing motor, said dispensing meanscomprising a support for a pile of articles, a conveyor means travelingthrough said pile of articles, article pick-up and carrying means inspaced positions on said conveyor for picking up and conveying articlestowards a dispensing point, a second conveyor means engageable with thefirst article to contact same and traveling at a faster speed than saidfirst conveyor means whereby the first article is removed and conveyedto said dispensing point.
 8. The apparatus in claim 7: said firstconveyor being a continuous, wide belt-like arrangement with saidpick-up and carrying means located in spaced relation along and acrosssame.
 9. The apparatus in claim 8: said first conveyor pick-up meanscomprising sharp members for impaling an article upon contacting same.10. The apparatus in claim 9: said first conveyor operating next to thestorage area and there being a support therein for feeding articles ontosaid conveyor.
 11. The apparatus in claim 10: said second conveyor beinga roller with sharp points in spaced locations thereon.
 12. Theapparatus in claim 11: a third conveyor above said roller comprising abelt with sharp teeth thereon in spaced locations.
 13. The apparatus inclaim 12: a fourth discharge conveyor at the end of said belt comprisinga roller with teeth thereon traveling faster than said third conveyor.14. In a machine for dispensing fabric-like articles, including shoptowels, which can be penetrated by a pointed member: a machine cabinethaving a storage area therein with a bottom on which is piled a pile ofarticles which are placed therein without any special order ofarrangement which includes dropping them therein from a dryer or thelike, a continuous conveyor passing next to said pile of articles andagainst the articles therein and said conveyor having article pick-upmembers therein that penetrate the fabric-like articles and move sameupwardly with the conveyor, said pattern of pick-up members being suchon said conveyor to be repeated at intervals on the conveyor and locatedin descending order on said conveyor whereby each member reaches atake-off point ahead of the others in the same pattern, there beingspaced between said point so arranged with respect to the distanceinvolved and the take-off top point so there is spaced between themthereby delivering one article ahead of the next to the take-off point.a bottom separation drum on said machine having means thereon engagingthe lead article and traveling faster than said continuous conveyor toseparate same and deliver it for dispensing while continuing the nextarticle, a top conveyor over said bottom separation drum, a bottomdelivery drum at the end of and below said top conveyor and the distancebetween said delivery drum and said separation drum being such that anarticle is extended from one to the other beneath said top conveyor,said delivery drum running faster than said top conveyor whereby onlyone article at a time is delivered.
 15. The device in claim 14, saidcontinuous conveyor being a continuous belt.
 16. The device in claim 14,wherein said delivery drum has sharp points protruding from the surfacethereof.
 17. The device in claim 14 wherein there is a curved support insaid cabinet for said pile of articles and said conveyor travelstherein.
 18. The device in claim 14 wherein said separation drum hasstrips of card cloth thereon.
 19. THe device in claim 18 wherein saidtop conveyor has card cloth thereon.
 20. The device in claim 14 whereinsaid conveyor comprises a pair of continuous chains having a canvas beltattached thereto.
 21. The device in claim 14 wherein there is an emptyindicator means actuated by the weight loss of the articles.
 22. Thedevice in claim 20 wherein said belt has impaling members thereon inspaced relation to each other.